What is it?

At the center of Matthew 28:18-20, we find the phrase “make disciples of all nations”. The command was given by Jesus, to everyone, so that everyone who knows Christ will become a disciple of Jesus and likewise go make more disciples for Jesus until everyone (all nations) are disciples (not just converts) of Jesus.

Who is supposed to obey it?

Everyone who knows Jesus. Many mistakenly believe the discipleship is the job of professional ministers of para-church organizations. To be a follower of Christ is to become like Christ. He was a disciple maker, so we are to also be disciple makers.

How relevant is it to us today?

It is just as relevant now as it was when Jesus walked on Earth! God’s main goal has been for the knowledge of His glory to fill the Earth as the water fills the seas (Habakkuk 2:14) and the Great Commission is our “practical application” to accomplishing His end goal through His people. All of our attention, ministry and activity should revolve around knowing God and doing His will as we accomplish His Great Commission.

How is supposed to be accomplished?

It is accomplished when all of His people are equipped to do the work of ministry and then all of God’s people go do the work of ministry to build the body of Christ as is clearly lined out in Ephesians 4:12.

This lesson will begin to turn more towards doing what we do as a result of being who we are.

God is very interested in our hearts and our motives behind our actions. We must guard against legalism and laziness. Pure devotion to God is what is expected of us.

God is very interested in our hearts and our motives behind our actions. Pure devotion to God is what is expected of us. In order to do so, we must die to ourselves and live for Jesus!

Lazy Christianity has plagued the modern church mistakenly claiming that since we are under grace, we are also under no obligation to do anything. As Dallas Willard put it his book, "The Great Ommission", “Grace is opposed to earning, not to effort.” Spiritual Disciplines are some of the ways we receive God’s grace and are necessary as we grow in Christ.

To be a disciple of Jesus means that we are to follow His example. Jesus was a Disciple-maker and so should we. The command to “make disciples of all nations” was given to every believer in the church. Whereas not every believer will necessarily preach a sermon or lead a small group, every mature disciple is able to mentor other believers in one-on-one discipleship.

Much of discipleship is modeling the Christian life for the next generation of Christians. The typical process for modeling life and ministry is called the MAWL process which means to Model, Assist, Watch and Leave. These do not always happen in chronological order, but rather they tend to happen simultaneously with emphasis usually on one or two aspects.